These are extraordinary times, and for a passionate progressive like myself, it’s hard to look away from the Basket of Deplorables being assembled to run the country’s executive branch.

But for today we need to discuss something both local and deplorable. Another hair-brained idea to build a downtown stadium for the San Diego Chargers is making the rounds, coming out of a Wednesday sit-down between Mayor Kevin Faulconer and team owners Dean Spanos.

After getting his ass handed to him at the ballot box in 2016 (56% voted No on a stadium measure requiring two-thirds approval), Spanos is counting on a future court ruling lowering the threshold to a simple majority, and on Rams owner Stan Kroenke’s desire to have the Los Angeles market all to himself. [Read more…]

Some of the murals have been in San Diego and some have been abroad. PangeaSeed mural projects aim to raise awareness about different issues effecting our oceans. As an artist for PangeaSeed she has traveled to Sri Lanka, Vietnam, New Zealand, and several cities in Mexico. [Read more…]

World War II Vets Would Not Have Stood for President-Elect

Remembering this December 7th – Pearl Harbor Day – has special significance for us today in this new Era of Trump. The 75th anniversary of the attack by Japanese forces on US air and naval power in Hawaii in late 1941 finds few surviving members still with us. And our collective memory of “the day of infamy” – as President Franklin Roosevelt declared it the next day before Congress – which pushed the country into World War II – has all but faded.

But yes, we need to remember this day – and all that it represents – all the contradictions of that historic moment and context. And all the parallels from that day to ours today. [Read more…]

A tour of one of the 200 different ethnic groups who live & contribute to our California

While exploring Los Angeles one weekend during the summer, I stumbled upon the district of Little Armenia. The community intrigued me, so I dove deeper, traveled further and found a large, diverse Armenian culture in California.

The most moving tribute to Armenians is located in the park outside the Fresno Courthouse. Donated to the County of Fresno by the people of Armenian descent of the San Joaquin Valley, the statue was dedicated on August 11, 1970 and was created by sculptor Varaz Samuelian. The plaque reads:

“David of Sassoon is the legendary folk-hero of the Armenians who rid their land of foreign conquerors single-handedly. It is an epic based on historical events dating back to the seventh century A.D. Troubadours, poets and sculptors have immortalized him for it gives eloquent expression to man’s undying love of freedom and justice for all. This statue, by Varaz Samuelian of Fresno, represents a thousand Davids in a thousand lands where throughout all of history man has sought to sustain his freedom against overwhelming odds.” [Read more…]

“Today, the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers announced that it will not be granting the easement to cross Lake Oahe for the proposed Dakota Access Pipeline. Instead, the Corps will be undertaking an environmental impact statement to look at possible alternative routes. We wholeheartedly support the decision of the administration and commend with the utmost gratitude the courage it took on the part of President Obama, the Army Corps, the Department of Justice and the Department of the Interior to take steps to correct the course of history and to do the right thing. [Read more…]

Prayer gathering and vigil in San Diego on December 5

San Diego Free Press asked Stan Levin and Gil Field of San Diego Veterans for Peace to let us know about local involvement at Standing Rock. Over two thousand veterans are currently providing support and protection at the Standing Rock Sioux nation camp near the Dakota Access Pipeline in North Dakota.

Stan and Gil put us in touch with Veteran for Peace Will Griffin whose work can be found at the Peace Report. Will provided us with the video below from his October 2016 trip to Standing Rock with Matthew Hoh, Advisory Board Member of Veterans For Peace. [Read more…]

Part I: From Laredo Texas to San Diego

Rosalia describes herself as lucky. She grew up in Laredo, Texas, the daughter of hardworking parents. She says her father Octavio was the hardest working man she has ever met. Her mother Alicia, who loved music and sincerely enjoyed meeting people, had an anything is possible attitude. Ocatvio was born in Mexico and Alicia was born in Michigan to a mother who had also been born in the United States.

Rosalia’s mother faced tremendous economic challenges. Her maternal grandfather Celestino left Texas before 1920 and moved to Detroit Michigan in search of a better livelihood. Celestino was born in Saltillo, and while living in Texas, worked as a shoe repair man. When the word spread all over the country that the Ford Motor company was hiring, Celestino, like many other Mexicanos, moved north in search of a better life. [Read more…]

“I signed up to serve my country and my people.”

By Nika Knight / Common Dreams

As tensions grow in North Dakota, with multiple eviction orders facing the Standing Rock Sioux Tribe in their battle against the Dakota Access Pipeline, U.S. military veterans on Friday began arriving at the Oceti Sakowin protest camp.

The 2,000 veterans, which include Rep. Tulsi Gabbard (D-Hawaii), plan to act as an unarmed militia and peaceful human shields to protect the Indigenous activists from police brutality.

“I signed up to serve my country and my people and I did that overseas,” Indigenous U.S. Navy veteran Brandee Paisano told the CBC. “I didn’t think I’d have to do it here, on this land, so here I am. This is what I need to be doing.” [Read more…]

I wanna be a 501(c)3
I have a worthy cause and I wanna be
The CEO of my favorite charity
A big fat salary with vague accountability
Endorsed by all my friends with their administrative abilities [Read more…]

Advocate, Activist, SDFP Citizen Journalist

Last night, November 30, KPBS presented the 2016 Local Heroes Celebration at the Kitchens for Good at the Jacobs Center. KPBS and their partner Union Bank have been hosting this event since 1998 as a way to “showcase what is good in our communities”.

It is impossible to showcase what is good in our communities without showcasing the people in our communities who do good. Sixteen heroes who reflect the strengths and challenges of San Diego’s diverse communities were honored for the unique way they do good. Jeeni Criscenzo, who is known to the San Diego Free Press community as a vocal, fearless and tireless advocate for homeless women and children was one of those honorees. [Read more…]

One of the disturbing trends in this turbulent season of national electoral politics was the explosion of uncertainty about information and truth in reporting. The talking points and tweets often wandered so far from actual facts, they left behind an exhausted citizenry. We are still recovering.

This “post-fact” world has brought the nation to an odd juncture. Fake news stories, Internet hacking, and websites that pump out false information remain a point of contention.

Has this “post-fact” epidemic trickled down to our local elections? [Read more…]

You’ll love their plush booths that throw you back to the days when cuddling up and having a private conversation with your significant other was the best kind of evening. For the socially rambunctious who miss the days when dives were “the thing,” they also have a bar open from 6pm to 1:30pm.

The bar is what kept the establishment afloat until Chef Ramon Gomez came onto the scene. Center Cut Steakhouse is actually 25 years old. However, six years ago the original owner passed away. The restaurant then went through a series of owners. [Read more…]

I have not actually slept
since that long night when astonished reporters went off script,
as we watched one incomprehensible red piece after another
inserted into the puzzle
that was supposed to be mostly blue.

Hearing them stammer words that couldn’t possibly be true,
but were,
was when my subconscious determined
that if I never close my eyes
I won’t awaken to that same nightmare that millions woke to
in Germany, under Hitler,
and other fascist regimes…
the morning after the coup. [Read more…]

A Hacker’s Wet Dream

By John Lawrence

Hackers are licking their chops over the latest push by high tech corporations including San Diego’s Qualcomm to create an Internet of Things in which everything is hooked up to the internet: your refrigerator, your thermostat, your security system, your car. It will be a hacker’s paradise. Already hackers have carried out a distributed denial of service (DDoS) taking Netflix, Twitter, Paypal and other major websites off the air. Hackers were able to direct an overwhelming amount of traffic to a company by the name of Dyn which acts as a switching hub for internet traffic.

The Internet of Things (IoT) is driven by corporate needs to find a new way to keep revenues flowing now that cell phones and computers seem to have reached their maximum growth capacity. So why not promote an internet in which all your household appliances are online? That way you can use your cell phone to set your thermostat, check on your refrigerator to see if you should pick up milk on the way home, check your cameras to see if the FedEx guy left a package etc. [Read more…]

The James Slatic family sat in San Diego Civil court Monday, November 15th, along with an impressive group of supporters, to listen to testimony on just why The San Diego District Attorney confiscated each of the family of four’s checking and savings accounts and has refused to give the funds back in the absence of criminal behavior. It was tough to understand government seizing money from two young girls and their parents and as the testimony unfolded it became clear no financial investigation was conducted either. Still, anti-cannabis Judge Jay Bloom ruled against the family and the case will now be moving up to a higher court.

Husband and step-father, James Slatic was partnered with two others in a cannabis related organization. The facility, now closed, was located in Kearny Mesa, a business/industrial area in the city of San Diego. Med-West, LLC employed 35 patients and had collective members who provided hash oil the organization would refine and use in vape pens and other cannabis-infused products. The products were sold to other mutual benefit corporations. A scenario vetted by Med-West’s attorneys and legal in the state of California.

The Kearny Mesa facility had been inspected by the San Diego city attorney’s office and had a business license. The organization was paying hundreds of thousands of dollars in state and federal taxes every year. Yet, in January, 2016, 20 members of Team 9 of the cross-deputized Narcotic Task Force rolled in and forced Med-West’s employees to the ground at gun point. [Read more…]

Is Trump lying about protecting Social Security and Medicare? Ask him!

Time to rip off the mantle of economic populism that Trump has wrapped himself in and expose what’s beneath it. It doesn’t bode well for those who thought pulling the lever for Trump meant that their Social Security and Medicare are safe.

While Donald Trump is busy Making America Great Again, Speaker of the House Paul Ryan is more than willing to take care of the policy making, starting with privatizing Medicare.

Let that sink in for a moment. Paul Ryan will propose legislation to privatize Medicare. Starting March of 2017. [Read more…]

Everyone has certain basic rights, no matter who is president.

By now everyone knows that Donald Trump has been elected president of the United States and will begin to serve his term in January 2017. No matter who is president, everyone living in the U.S. has certain basic rights under the U.S. Constitution. Undocumented immigrants have these rights, too. It is important that we all assert and protect our basic rights.

If you find you have to deal with Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) or other law enforcement officers at home, on the street, or anywhere else, remember that you have the rights described in this factsheet. The factsheet also provides suggestions for what you should do to assert your rights. [Read more…]

California voters approved Proposition 64, the Control, Regulate and Tax Adult Use of Marijuana Act, by a vote of 56% to 44%. Voters in Maine, Massachusetts and Nevada also approved legalization measures. Medical cannabis had a big night, too. Voters approved or expanded medical cannabis laws in Florida, North Dakota, Arkansas and Montana.

Proposition 64 legalizes the adult use, possession and cultivation of cannabis for non-medical purposes in California. It also creates a process for licensing and regulating adult use businesses, including cultivators, product manufacturers and retailers by 2018. [Read more…]

We were greeted by a decidedly Italian waitress – Valentina – who hails from Lake Como in Italy. She has lived in the U.S. for about a year-and-a-half and will be returning to Italy in a year or so. She presented us with a huge menu, including 32 different kinds of pizza’s as well as antipasto, salads, desserts, pastas as well as wines and beers.

The specials of the day change from day to day, but the categories remain the same. For example, the restaurant had a veal dish, filet mignon, seafood, pizza, risotto, ravioli, fettuccine, gnocchi, and chicken, just cooked differently on different days. [Read more…]